NAMM 2013: The One DJ Software Live Editing Timeline

We’ve been hearing about The One software for over a year, but today we’re getting yet another peek inside of how the software really operates. Check out inside for a full video of the live editing timeline in the software that allows for on-the-fly edits that are more expected in a DAW workflow.

We’ve seen the software on the NAMM 2013 floor – and the program does allow for dynamic real-time editing of not only the clips and tracks that are in the mix, but the version we saw on the floor had EQ and volume automation that feels similar to the intuitive workflow that might be familiar to anyone who used Mixmeister Fusion.

For more NAMM 2013 coverage:

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Comments (70)
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  • Rockin Rudy

    The One DJ Software is now available to try or buy through their website… Been waiting to try it out.

  • dexum175

    Yea hes been dj’n this whole time but he never realized nobody was dancing… Not good.

  • BBang

    hmmm.. maybe just use ableton & a launchpad?!

  • Puddin

    Mixmeister has been doing this for years. However it got to far away from the basics and it seems like The One is where Mixmwiester was in 2005. It’s great for podcasts (easier than Ableton) and putting together sound clips for intros, commercials, etc.

  • SamsonAtDisqus

    Would be cool to see a controller for this. And see how easy or difficult this is to do with a 3-4 minute window via a controller in a live set.

  • Stephen Dub Bub Almada

    so…..theres this program…..its called ableton……it kinda does things like this and has been around for a long time now.

  • Loco

    Before people start comparing with Ableton they should check out the other videos on layout creation and routing, very different than ableton, this live editing part is just one dimension of the software, being able to create my own layouts is also something that traktor/ableton don’t have and I would love to be able to. Of course you can create templates and traktor has a few options but I think they are limited. Idealistic, would have these guys work together with NI and make an awesome Traktor PRO 3 combining this and the remix decks in a more controller friendly workflow… just a fantasy 🙂

  • Darnell Stewart

    Electronic and other modern recording artists will love this program …..

    You’ll be able to make a live mega mix of all your recordings on the fly. I could see acts like: Justice, Daft Punk, The Presets, Digitalism, etc. making great use of this software but, DJ “nobody knows who i am” won’t get any love at a nightclub with this platform.

    Great for artists not DJs.

  • Kyle BP

    For those of you saying this is just like Ableton: watch the videos on vimeo about Creating layouts and Audio routing. Being able to customize the UI, and in fact have several different custom layouts you swap between is useful, powerful, and not offered by Ableton. So they do appear to be bringing a few new ideas to the table.

    A question for the DJTT representative at NAMM: Were you able to see how previewing in the headphones would work in live DAW-style arrangement process demonstrated above? Is the DJ able to preview the edits he’s creating before the main output playback reaches that point?

    • wardtf

      “For those of you saying this is just like Ableton: watch the videos on vimeo about Creating layouts and Audio routing. Being able to customize the UI, and in fact have several different custom layouts you swap between is useful, powerful, and not offered by Ableton. So they do appear to be bringing a few new ideas to the table.”

      Get max for live

      “A question for the DJTT representative at NAMM: Were you able to see how previewing in the headphones would work in live DAW-style arrangement process demonstrated above? Is the DJ able to preview the edits he’s creating before the main output playback reaches that point?”

      Good idea, why don’t you use max for live to create this?

      • Pedro Fernandes

        I can’t use ableton to pre-listen live a mix made during that live BEFORE it play’s on the sound system. That’s the only problem with Ableton. And Max for Live can’t fix anything, and many people don’t even know how to use it. And probably Max for Live + Live itself it’s much more expensive that The One always ever be.

  • Shuriken Tenshii

    So this is Ableton without all the pre-editing or planning. Don’t see many DJs using this live. Looks kinda kool. I’m not an EDM style producer or dj so I can’t see myself using this any different than Ableton. Anyone who going to be remixing on the fly is going to have some level of preparation so I highly doubt anyone is going to grab random clips and just wing it. All the dj software now has stuff like this built in (maybe with more preplanning). Anyway good article (I’m not ditching Ableton for this that’s for sure).

  • Joshua Spaz

    If I DJ I still perform to mix my 3 decks. I don’t want to play with a sequencer while I stand in front of 200 people. I actually close my laptop and put it to the side so I don’t have my face into it. I have all the words and waveforms I need on my cdj400’s. If I could afford to have better cdj’s I would just do everything off of external drives and no laptop. But I really do like to have what I have in case I want to throw songs around differently. All in all I think this software isn’t a bad idea…. just not for me. Big ups to the engineers though.

  • DJ PC3

    This is a cool way to make easy fast remixes… but like said so many times before, Abelton already exists and I really don’t see anything too ground breaking in this software that would have me put away my Technics and DVS.

    On a “atheistic” note I don’t think any owner/manager/promoter is gonna want to hire a dude using a mouse and keyboard during there sets. I know girl-talk does it but his is def an exception and even now I’ve seen him with controllers in his set-up.

  • Speezy Speez

    no idea why you wouldn’t just use live and warp beforehand. this seems like a pretty weird way to mix.

    I guess I just don’t understand how this is any different than using any DAW on the market “live” except that it’s more limited.

    at least with Ableton you can do everything in this video from the session view and you can choose to use the mouse or not.

  • GroovinDJ

    All you guys saying it’s like Ableton (Live) are missing one crucial thing. Live is not DJ software, it’s a DAW – and as such using Live to “DJ” is closer to producing a track in front of an audience than DJing.
    The warping is cool, but the “traditional” DJ features like decks with individual pitch controls and a track browser are missing. The browser in Live is awful for DJ use.
    Traktor is getting closer to Live now with the Remix Decks, so I guess eventually DJs who do use Live will be able to move away from the limitations.

  • GroovinDJ

    All you guys saying it’s like Ableton (Live) are missing one crucial thing. Live is not DJ software, it’s a DAW – and as such using Live to “DJ” is closer to producing a track in front of an audience than DJing.
    The warping is cool, but the “traditional” DJ features like decks with individual pitch controls and a track browser are missing. The browser in Live is awful for DJ use.
    Traktor is getting closer to Live now with the Remix Decks, so I guess eventually DJs who do use Live will be able to move away from the limitations.

    • Speezy Speez

      if that is your interpretation of live all I can say is that you’re doing it wrong.

  • dan sorce

    I don’t get this at all. I can do all of this in protools, or live, or even reason for that matter. edit create share SAVE live….. um software has been doin this for years already

  • dan sorce

    I don’t get this at all. I can do all of this in protools, or live, or even reason for that matter. edit create share SAVE live….. um software has been doin this for years already

  • Chewy Lewis

    I definitely want to get my hands on this.
    My only question I have is do you have an eq for each clip you bring in?
    If not its going to be a massive audio mess when layering loops.

  • Chewy Lewis

    I definitely want to get my hands on this.
    My only question I have is do you have an eq for each clip you bring in?
    If not its going to be a massive audio mess when layering loops.

  • devin

    i see no eq’ing of samples going on. big problem, fine if your using all that premade loopmasters stuff, but sometimes you might get a really loud or quiet sample, what then??

  • devin

    i see no eq’ing of samples going on. big problem, fine if your using all that premade loopmasters stuff, but sometimes you might get a really loud or quiet sample, what then??

  • Kaitain

    you can do this with DAWs if you are fast with your mouse. When I have all the elements of a Reason track done and I want to compose an arrangement for it, I essentially do what is being done here: fast edits ahead of the playing head. The only way this would be new is if the User Interface was highly innovative, but it doesn’t look like it is. Not convinced.

  • Kaitain

    you can do this with DAWs if you are fast with your mouse. When I have all the elements of a Reason track done and I want to compose an arrangement for it, I essentially do what is being done here: fast edits ahead of the playing head. The only way this would be new is if the User Interface was highly innovative, but it doesn’t look like it is. Not convinced.

  • DJ addiction

    This is gonna be awesome for live remixing the interface is better than able ton since ableton is a daw it performs like it slow and you have to be meticulous with your sample selection and it’s just not good for live djing this though with the timeline interface that is so simple a 4 year old could do it should be much better

  • DJ addiction

    This is gonna be awesome for live remixing the interface is better than able ton since ableton is a daw it performs like it slow and you have to be meticulous with your sample selection and it’s just not good for live djing this though with the timeline interface that is so simple a 4 year old could do it should be much better

  • Travesty

    it is a very cool concept, in theory…. but i just feel like this is a bad idea. Adding loops to a track on the fly can be cool, but wasting time realigning clips to make them fit, staring at your computer, lining up in specific sections…. seems like stuff that should just be done before hand in your tracks and not while trying to DJ.

    seems interesting, just dont see it ever catching on. Majority of the people on the dance floor dont even appreciate the level of skill and technique that goes into current DJing, will they ever notice to care that you just added a loop of hats on the track that were not there before?

    who knows

  • Travesty

    it is a very cool concept, in theory…. but i just feel like this is a bad idea. Adding loops to a track on the fly can be cool, but wasting time realigning clips to make them fit, staring at your computer, lining up in specific sections…. seems like stuff that should just be done before hand in your tracks and not while trying to DJ.

    seems interesting, just dont see it ever catching on. Majority of the people on the dance floor dont even appreciate the level of skill and technique that goes into current DJing, will they ever notice to care that you just added a loop of hats on the track that were not there before?

    who knows

  • smurl3f

    Well, where is the point or the difference to Ableton Live? Imho there is no difference, it’s just a clone trying to be inovative. I seriously do not want to hate, but it’s just nothing new. You can do similar stuff in nearly every DAW.

  • smurl3f

    Well, where is the point or the difference to Ableton Live? Imho there is no difference, it’s just a clone trying to be inovative. I seriously do not want to hate, but it’s just nothing new. You can do similar stuff in nearly every DAW.

  • Mb

    i will never like this one…for me the crosfader is the thing when i mix and using mouse its not so much my thing… 🙂 looks funny but like so many other people allready said”ableton” do the same thing and maybe even better 🙂

  • Mb

    i will never like this one…for me the crosfader is the thing when i mix and using mouse its not so much my thing… 🙂 looks funny but like so many other people allready said”ableton” do the same thing and maybe even better 🙂

  • Edmond KO

    It’s more or less like MixMeister but the UI looks great

  • Edmond KO

    It’s more or less like MixMeister but the UI looks great

  • Guest

    I use Mixmeister Pro 5 but would love to try this. I need something like this or MM Pro 5 but with a controller that I could take over the mix with when needed. Lining things up and being able to hear my mix before it happens has two important benefits in a live setting. First, my mix always comes out perfect and second, it allows me more time both to interact with the people and to work on my song selection. Thumbs up so far.

  • Guest

    I use Mixmeister Pro 5 but would love to try this. I need something like this or MM Pro 5 but with a controller that I could take over the mix with when needed. Lining things up and being able to hear my mix before it happens has two important benefits in a live setting. First, my mix always comes out perfect and second, it allows me more time both to interact with the people and to work on my song selection. Thumbs up so far.

    • Moosehead

      What a load of crap

  • Carlos Miniño

    I would use this software for a podcast or a ringtone, looks interesting but I don’t think it can match Ableton

  • Carlos Miniño

    I would use this software for a podcast or a ringtone, looks interesting but I don’t think it can match Ableton

  • Cyribro Thatdirty-dutchkid Bre

    I for one…want it. If even just to try it out, I’m pretty pumped about the new software and hardware that’s hitting us this year. Straight up game changers!

  • Cyribro Thatdirty-dutchkid Bre

    I for one…want it. If even just to try it out, I’m pretty pumped about the new software and hardware that’s hitting us this year. Straight up game changers!

  • Anonymous

    Yeah, I don’t think it is a DJ kind of thing to do “live mashing” of music. Not if the crowd is is supposed to be important to you, which I think, for every DJ, is absolutely important. So, the mashing stuff is a studio thing for sure and for that you have much better tools……

    Now had they have shown how you can automate working with clips like that with a midi controller, that might get interesting…

    scamo

  • Anonymous

    Yeah, I don’t think it is a DJ kind of thing to do “live mashing” of music. Not if the crowd is is supposed to be important to you, which I think, for every DJ, is absolutely important. So, the mashing stuff is a studio thing for sure and for that you have much better tools……

    Now had they have shown how you can automate working with clips like that with a midi controller, that might get interesting…

    scamo

  • tr4gik

    hmmm not sure if while im djing wanna do all this editing on the fly like shown in the vid, i think i rather do all that major editing of a song at home in Ableton and just play my edit with traktor. I think like some say stay more focused on the dance floor.

  • tr4gik

    hmmm not sure if while im djing wanna do all this editing on the fly like shown in the vid, i think i rather do all that major editing of a song at home in Ableton and just play my edit with traktor. I think like some say stay more focused on the dance floor.

  • Theo Void

    Looks cool. I guess. But as it’s been stated already, ABLETON.
    Also, how come EVERY demo video of EVERY soft-ware or hard-ware shows the dude playing the most basic tech house type stuff ever!?!?! I could make that shit on a casio!!

    • Max Yankov

      I think it’s because it’s genre that’s so easy to put some additional layers and generic loops on. It makes making EDM like an easy process of combining prepared parts, without any work required to mix stuff, write melodies, master, arrange.

      • wardtf

        Max is right… Styles like trance have to much layers, melodies…

    • Max Yankov

      I think it’s because it’s genre that’s so easy to put some additional layers and generic loops on. It makes making EDM like an easy process of combining prepared parts, without any work required to mix stuff, write melodies, master, arrange.

  • Jeremy Iliev

    probably a year ago they were asking for suggestions on features and concepts to include in the program on their facebook page. i suggested that if its going to be dj software, the timeline needs to visually reflect the way a CDJ or controller cues and plays audio.

    what i mean by this is that when you hit play on the deck, the whole clip is moved forwards or backwards in time (or dropped in if it hasn’t been played yet) so that the cue point you just started is at the position of the playmarker at that instant. so you hit play, the clip ‘locks in’ at that position, the playmarker moves forward along the clip and the sound starts playing in time alongside the existing clips on other decks. hit cue/stop and the clip unlocks, and then floats along playmarker at the current cuepoint, ready to lock in/drop when you hit play. the jog wheel should move the clip forwards and backwards relative to the playmarker, and pitch adjustments should physically increase or decrease the size of the clip to reflect it playing for shorter or longer.

    this is nothing more than a visual representation of the way basically all analog/digital dj decks work right now, but the power is that you can see forward with perfect precision and effortlessly line up loops/builds/etc so you can drop them perfectly phrased with the way the existing track is evolving.

    if this isn’t built in functionality then i hope they have good midi/mapping because with a workflow like that i think the one has the potential to be the most powerful dj platform by a long shot

    • Christopher

      Exactly my thoughts on this! When I saw the video I was blown away! To have the function of traktor mixed with ableton .. mash ups and preparing a set that would always be different from someone else. I think this is really cool and will honestly change the way you prepare sets and different tracks.

  • Sebastien Pico

    i have to admit the customable and easy layout and audio routine are quite intéresting , i hope other builder wil keep the idea in mind . That’s whithout a doubt a very good seeling point

  • Sebastien Pico

    if they make a good controller so we could work without a mouss and the concept is solid ( how the cue works ? the filter? and EQ for multiple layer on the same deck ? etc…) i would definitly give it try

  • Alan Daniel Camarena

    This just gave me a hard-on, it so fits my style of mixing production with dj-ing.

  • Dan Schmidt

    I liked the modular-style tracks and effects set up, but this part, the part they’re always featuring, does not make any sense to me in a live DJ setup. If this session view-style thing records the track start/stop information and the knobs, faders, effects and anything else as automation instead of a mix as one big wav. file, then I could see going into this after the mix and fixing a bad transition or re-recording more stuff. That would actually be awesome. While I’m DJing, I don’t want to be clicking and dragging clips into my mix. I want to find them and play them using my controller. I really hope this software is more fun than it looks.

  • Sasha Solo

    I don’t know about this one, I don’t usually comment here but glued to your monitor or your laptop all night isn’t a fun time for me. So 5 out of 10 for me. Cool concept don’t get me wrong, maybe Ean and the dj techtools staff can whip up a controller for it 🙂

    my 2cents… SS

  • Eric Levine

    Interesting idea to make a DJ platform more like a DAW. I don’t give it a thumbs down, but I can’t really give it a thumbs up either. I think this will lead to more DJ’s constantly with their head in the laptop and less focused on the dance floor and their actual performance.

    I would like to try it though…

    • Ronald Edwards

      Yeah, except that Ableton already exists. I can’t say this is a bad program, but I can say it’s been overly quiet for over a year and since no one hyped it, people have moved on to other things (namely Ableton). There are more and more DJ programs being written for Max for Live (in Ableton) and that interface is just really solid.

      • Alan Daniel Camarena

        I’ve been mixing in live quite a lot lately, and I love the capabilities of using my iPad to listen to my mix and EQ while I’m walking around the club listening to what they’re listening to instead of being in the booth, ya kno? But this one still seems like a very nice way of automating samples on the go instead of having to bounce back and forth between session and arrangement mode, sometimes I don’t even use arrangement mode cause I’m already playing a clip that’s not in the automation, this thing could definitely be a nice one cause you got the browser right in front of you instead of having to load clips by bouncing between windows you know? I mean, I already see a lot of rejection to this program in the comments, no need to use it if it doesn’t fit in your head that this can make gigging more relaxing and enjoyable

    • Jim Wilcox

      I was basically gonna say the exact same thing… to much mouse play not enough interaction… i’m already doing my best to get my computer out of the mix and this would just simple force me to use it more…